fiesta de spiders

5 May 2016

One of the very most horrifying awesome things about living in a place that used to be a tobacco field 3 years ago is the wildlife. And by wildlife, I mean insects. And by insects, I mean spiders. So. Many. Spiders. It’s…..just. so. many. spiders. They just appear. Everywhere. Like little spider ninjas. I’ll walk through the office and no spider. I walk through 3 seconds later and BAM! GIANT SPIDER STARING AT ME FROM THE MIDDLE OF THE FLOOR WITH ALL 8 EYES. FROM WHERE DIDST YOU COME, BEAST?!

Saurus has appointed himself chief spider killer which is fine by me except that no spiders actually meet their maker. So far he’s 0 for 16,439 but I will give him the assist on 7 previously vanquished foes that he ensured were no longer recognizable as anything more than a smear on the wall. This is why I have washable paint.

Mostly he just moves in Saurus mode which is a rough equivalent to a drunken squirrel so by the time we’ve gotten over the excitement of finding a spider that needed vanquishing, choosing the correct shoe with which to kill said spider (it’s a serious process, apparently), and getting your face thisclose to said spider to examine it, the spider has gotten bored of simply sitting in the middle of the floor waiting to be annihilated and darts under the couch, pursued by a todder with a toddler-sized flip-flop smashing wildly but nowhere near it.

Now, the toddler is disappointed, the Mama sighs and adds another tally to spider win column, and the ninja fiend is safely ensconced under the couch. Where he and his 16,438 buddies are most likely wearing sombreros and throwing a fiesta.

Speaking of fiestas, Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

Which is like Taco Tuesday on steroids in my book. And provides a reason for me to make churro cupcakes. Which obviously need to be filled with dulce de leche because once upon a time when I was young and went to Mexico for spring break, I ate 9000 filled churros and nothing else. That’s the end of that story. Yup. The end.

But I did become convinced that dulce de leche filled churros are the only churros. And I also became convinced at midnight last night that I should make my own dulce de leche from scratch because I’m an idiot. Don’t do that. Don’t be that person who decides to make dulce de leche at midnight. Buy it in a can. I mean, homemade is awesome but really not worth it. I’m giving you the recipe anyway since I have one but just save yourself a few hours and buy the can.

Stir until sugar is completely dissolved, then reduce heat to medium-low

Continue cooking, stirring frequently until mixture has thickened and darkened in color (at least an hour). You'll need to store more frequently and reduce heat the thicker the mixture gets to avoid burning.

Transfer to a bowl to cool and then fill your cupcakes while you wish you would have just bought the can.